Heart of Light
by Raberba girl
Summary: Roxas meets a young woman in the woods and learns some more life lessons. Platonic Aurora/Roxas.


Shadowless Princesses: Heart of Light

A Kingdom Hearts fanfic by Raberba girl

_For Kiryn, my dear little Ienzo, from your loving pervy Even. ;p I think we had a slightly rocky start, but you've become a dear friend to me by now, and I've really learned and grown such a lot by talking with you. You are an inspiration. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!_

Summary: Roxas meets a young woman in the woods and learns some more life lessons. Platonic Aurora/Roxas.

A/N: Semi-CatC universe. As in, makes reference to it, but one or two things don't fit.

**"Dinner" here is the midday meal, not the evening one.**

I'll forego the backstory on this one, except to say that Kiryn helped quite a lot until we finally settled on RoseRox. ^^ Though I still haven't quite discarded the idea of Riku/Rose...

**Gah, yet more slang fail!** DX All this time, I thought "noob/n00b" meant someone who doesn't know much about a certain topic/etc., but turns out that the term I meant was actually "newb," and "noob/n00b" is significantly different, more specific as well as insulting. orz Stupid slang. I'm used to picking up real vocabulary through context clues, but I am discovering more and more that when it comes to slang, context clues just get you in trouble. -.-;;;;;;;;;;;;;

o.o.o

It occurred to Roxas to wonder, after he had wandered this Enchanted Dominion place for a couple of hours without seeing a single Heartless, if maybe Demyx and Xigbar's laughter had meant something.

_"Where's Saïx?"_

_"Hm? Oh...he's, uh, taking the day off. Having some fun with those three blonde chicks in Beast's village."_

_"Really? I didn't know Saïx could have fun."_

_"Heheheh."_

_"So is today a vacation?"_

_"I dunno, Xiggy, should today be a vacation?"_

_"For our Littlest Keybearer here? No way."_

_"Wait, it's Saïx who makes the vacation days, not you guys."_

_"Well, see, today it's my turn to plan vacations and not-vacations because I'm subbing for him. Yeah."_

_"Huh?!"_

_"Yup. Dem here's filling in for the vice-Superior today."_

_"Saïx let _Demyx_ do his job?!"_

_"What, you don't think I'm up to it?"_

_"N...No, I just - I mean, I'd have thought he'd make someone else do it."_

_"Well, you thought wrong, 'cuz it's me. 'Cuz I'm awesome."_

_"...Okay. Where's my mission brief?"_

_"Uhhh..."_

_"You're goin' somewhere new today, kiddo."_

_"I am?"_

_"He is?"_

_"You know anything about Enchanted Dominion?"_

_"Ummm..."_

_"Great! What's his mission, Dem?"_

_"Hm. Let's send him after a giant Heartless."_

_"Heheh, and what kind of giant Heartless, bro?"_

_"A giant Heartless of awesome."_

_"Works for me."_

_"...Are you guys just making this up?"_

_"Are we _what_?"_

_"I am in_sulted_!"_

_"Fine, whatever. See you guys later."_

_"Have fun, tiger."_

_"Hee, I love newbs."_

Thinking over this morning's conversation, Roxas concluded that he probably should have checked with Axel first. "I hate being dumb..." He had the feeling that most people his size knew a lot more than he did. He wondered if he would get to be as smart as Axel once he was that tall.

_"It must be something wonderful...it must be something grand..."_

Someone was singing. Roxas was curious (and bored, and had nothing better to do - he was pretty sure now that there was no giant Heartless, and no un-giant Heartless, either). He went to go find the singer.

She was really pretty. She looked like she was a few years older than him, with long curling golden hair. She seemed to be singing to herself and an entourage of forest animals, who followed her around as she picked plants and put them in a basket.

The animals saw Roxas first. Several of them surged over to intercept him, the birds fluttering around his head with warning calls and the doe looking like she was debating whether or not to kick him. "Who?" the owl demanded.

"Umm...I'm Roxas."

The girl was now watching him curiously. "Hello."

"Hi."

They looked at each other some more. "Are you out here searching for your true love?" she finally asked.

"Huh? No, I'm looking for a Heartless. Sort of."

She smiled a little and rose to her feet. "I'd know if there was great darkness in your heart... I suppose you mean to destroy it, then."

"Yeah. Have you seen it? Have you seen _any_?"

"Not in the woods - they prefer to manifest where there are more people. But we haven't really had a problem with the Heartless since that boy came along and set the worlds to rights." She was close enough to touch him by now, and she did so, raising a hand to rest against the side of his face. "You remind me of him," she murmured. "Or perhaps...you remind me of someone else...someone whose heart was full of light like yours..."

"Did he wear red?" Roxas suddenly asked.

"Hm? Not the one I'm thinking of, that doesn't sound quite right."

"Oh. Okay."

"By the way, my name is- Well, it's Aurora, but I prefer to be called Rose."

"Hi, Rose."

"Hello, Roxas." She smiled at him, and he smiled back a little uncertainly. "Where's your horse?"

"My horse? I don't have a horse."

"_Really_?" she said with interest. "I thought all men had horses."

"None of us in the Organization do," Roxas mused, "but maybe this world is different."

"The Organization?" she asked curiously.

_'Oops. Change the subject, Roxas.'_ "What are you doing out here? Are you looking for _your_ true love?"

"Oh, no, I've already found him," she laughed. "As well as two new families and enough nosy, bossy servants to drive me mad... This is the first time I've managed to sneak out alone in _ages_."

"Huh. I've never had a problem like that with my servants, they just kind of wander around trying to catch people in Duel Stances and waiting for me to give them orders."

"I see," she said politely.

"...Well, I hope you have fun, um, picking flowers."

She laughed. "It's actually the leaves and stems I need. Aunt Flora recommended them, she said they would be good for the baby."

"Baby?" Roxas said interestedly. That was one of those words Axel would never explain to him and Xion, he just kept telling them to eat their ice cream before it melted. "What's a baby?"

She looked delighted. "So there _is_ someone else who didn't know! I was sure there had to be."

Roxas felt his face lighting up. Yay, _someone else_ who was dumb. This was excellent.

"A baby," she explained, "is a very, very young person. They're quite small, and most of the ones I've seen have been very cute, too. They eventually grow into children, and then into adults."

"Ohhhh," Roxas realized. "So, like, those really tiny people who aren't dolls and cry a lot and can't talk or walk..."

"Yes, those are babies. I'll be taking care of one soon."

"Really? Where do you buy them from?"

"I don't think you buy them...I'm pretty sure I already have one." She pressed the front of her dress flat against her body. "See?"

Roxas stared at the small but noticeable bulge right where her stomach was. "_That's_ a baby?"

"It's inside. Apparently, Phillip put it there... Aunt Flora said that babies are brought by storks, and Aunt Fauna said that they're sent down from heaven, but Aunt Merryweather took me aside once and told me a different story...it's the one I'm most inclined to believe, though."

"Really? What was it?"

Rose moved along, gathering more plants and recounting the story to Roxas as they were trailed by slightly bored, but still dutiful forest animals.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh," Roxas said at the end of it. "That explains a _lot_." He thought a moment. "I wonder if Axel is my father." He hoped _very_ much that Larxene wasn't his mother, but he couldn't think of anyone else. He shivered and tried to change the subject. "Why do the animals follow you around all the time?"

"Oh, they've always been my friends."

"Really?"

"Yes, they like it when I sing to them." She demonstrated. _"Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling: soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky..."_

The creatures perked up happily, and the birds fluttered in a way that was almost like dancing.

"Cool," Roxas said.

"Why don't you try?"

"Me?"

"Yes, go ahead."

Roxas eyed the entourage doubtfully. _"Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling: soaring, tumbling, freewheeling-"_ The birds seemed to stumble in midair, the rabbits were practically rolling over with mirth, and the deer staggered gracefully sideways. Roxas could have sworn they were all laughing at him. "I'm that bad?"

"Oh, no, dear, you sing wonderfully. It's just that that doesn't seem to be your song."

"My song?"

"Yes. Everyone has at least one song - what I sang just now was one of my friend Jasmine's. It sounded so strange when you tried to sing it, though, since you haven't found your own yet."

"Oh. What's my song?"

"Well, I'm not sure. Let's try to find it."

"Okay."

They both waited. "Well?" she finally prompted.

"Uh...so would it be, like...in a treasure chest or something...?"

"You have to sing what's in your heart, silly."

Roxas suddenly felt cold. "...What if someone doesn't have a heart?"

"Oh, everyone has a heart."

"Some people don't..."

Rose looked at him for a while. Then she smiled and laid her hand over his chest. "Roxas," she said softly. "I know that you can't just look inside and see it. But don't you feel it? Every time you watch a beautiful sunset, or laugh with the people you love?"

Roxas thought about this. "So, _if_ I have a heart," he said cautiously, "how do I know what's in there so I can sing it?"

"Just sing what you _feel_, Roxas."

"...Hm." Well, he wasn't supposed to be able to feel, but he kind of did anyway, so there was no harm in trying, right? _"I like ice cream. Axel is my best friend. Xion is, too. I got a dog for Christmas."_

The animals were falling about again.

"It ought to rhyme," Rose explained gently.

"What's rhyme?"

"It's when the endings of the words sound the same. Like this: _I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam._ See? _Dream_ and _gleam_ sound the same."

"Ohhhh." Roxas thought some more. _"I like ice cream, and Axel is funny. Xion is my friend and gave me a puppy."_

"Much better," Rose praised. "Just keep on practicing, and someday, when you're wandering through the woods, the beautiful sound of your voice will draw your true love."

"Oh." Demyx could sing good, but he didn't have a true love. Maybe only Somebodies could find them. But, no, all the stuff Rose had said about hearts... "Do you _have_ to have a true love?"

Rose looked a little blank. "Well, you know...none of my fairy aunts have one, and they all seem happy. Perhaps not."

"Do you like your true love?"

It looked as if a sunrise was breaking over her face. "Oh, _yes_. I love him more than anyone in the world."

"Wow."

"He is so sweet and clever, and strong and funny and brave..."

They both looked up at the sound of a distant cry. "Rose!"

Something was pounding the ground, rapidly approaching. The Keyblade appeared in Roxas's hand, but Rose seemed perfectly unperturbed. "We're over here!" she called.

A figure on horseback soon came bursting through the trees, pulling up nearby.

"Hello, Phillip dear."

"Darling, you could have at least waited for me to come back," her husband said reproachfully, swinging down and striding over to put his arms around her. "You know I'd prefer to keep an eye on you out here, especially when I now have two loves to worry over instead of one."

"We're perfectly all right," she said, kissing him. "I made a new friend - this is Roxas. He's learning how to sing properly."

"The words have to rhyme," Roxas stated, not sure what else to say.

Phillip laughed. "That does help. I say, aren't you hot, wandering around out here in that coat?"

"Um...well, I'm used to it... I'm looking for a giant Heartless. Or even some regular Heartless, that'd be good."

"Well," Phillip said, "we haven't had much Heartless trouble for a while now, but if you like, you can accompany us back to the castle and look through the Menace Reports. The villagers would certainly appreciate any help with that very much."

"Before that, though," Rose added, "I would be delighted if you joined us for dinner. I'm sure my aunts would love to meet you."

"Well...okay."

o.o.o.o.o

Both of the kids were running late, so Axel was hanging out on the clock tower by himself when Roxas finally showed up. "Hi, Axel."

"Hey, Rox." He frowned a little. "What the heck happened to your coat?"

"Flora and Merryweather had a fight," Roxas explained, looking down at the pink-and-blue-splashed garment. "I tried to stop them, but Fauna kept hugging me and calling me 'Ven Dear' and feeding me cake, so I got distracted."

"Ooookay."

Roxas sat down and unwrapped his ice cream. "Hey, Axel?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't have a true love, right?"

"Uh...not really..."

"Is it because you can't sing good?"

"Huh?"

"Or rhyme?"

"_What_?"

"And I have some more questions about putting babies into girls, too."

Axel choked on his ice cream and nearly fell off the clock tower. "Flaming pants, I'm gonna need something stronger than ice cream... Luxord, where are you when I need you!"


End file.
